The grays, blues, and browns of the coast can seem endless in the cooler months, no longer competing with a colorful array of summer visitors. The beach feels more intense, the salt air stronger, the sound of the waves clearer. In Holden Beach, it’s the best time to search for a certain kind of treasure among the riches that the ocean deposits daily onto the sand: sea biscuits.
photograph by Evan Brearey
These fossilized shells look like puffy sand dollars, with the curve and heft of a smooth stone that would fit in a child’s palm — and they’re drawing shell enthusiasts from near and far. According to UNC Wilmington geology and environmental science lecturer Roger Shew, sea biscuits are “relics of the past life that inhabited our area millions of years ago.” An array of shells often washes ashore after powerful storms churn the ocean floor. But sea biscuits are likely finding their way to Holden Beach after a dredging project several years ago disturbed a sedimentary deposit, loosening fossils into currents.
Sea biscuits remain plentiful in Holden Beach, and if you walk the shoreline — especially near the pier — in the hours around low tide, you’ll likely find one. As the tide recedes, the water might reveal a flower-shaped etching, an image of the ocean’s past frozen in time.
Tucked into a historic neighborhood, a backyard in Forsyth County holds hundreds of Southern wildflowers collected by one wild flower woman.
John Champlin has traveled across the state — and the nation — in search of hard-to-find spots that serve an unforgettable hot dog. After 11 years, what he’s discovered goes way beyond the bun.
In the early 20th century, textile mill owners sponsored baseball teams, providing entertainment for their employees and nurturing a passion for the game that’s been handed down through generations of North Carolinians.
Our writer reflects on where his love of vinyl began, and how the snap, crackle, and pop of a needle sliding across a turntable will always satisfy his soul.
